Unique work covering the evolution, ecology, behaviour, physiology and taxonomy of more than 300 species of odonata. The majority are illustrated in their adult form, but many can be found illustrated as larvae. Also describes the distinctive features of individual families and 73 sub-families.
Foreword; Preface and acknowledgements; Introduction; Today's Odondata; Life cycle; The perfect hunting machine; Lords of the air; Colour and polymorphism; Territory and reproduction; Habitats and refugia; Odonata around the world; Evolutionary riddles; Artificial rearing; Conservation; Glossary; Dragonfly societies; Bibliography; Index of species; General Index.
Jill Silsby served as Honorary Secretary of the British Dragonfly Society for eight years, was a founding member of the Worldwide Dragonfly Association and, since its foundation in 1997, has been its Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. She is author of Inland Birds of Saudi Arabia (1995).